|
What
is a good layout? |
| A good
layout works |
It
does what you set out to do |
You need to
know what the purpose of the piece is, who it is for, and where it will be
seen or how it will be distributed |
| A good
layout organizes |
It
maps out a visual path for readers to follow - shows what comes first,
second third ... |
You must
present the information in good order to make your message as clear as
possible |
| A good
layout attracts |
It
grabs your readers' attention and pulls them into your piece |
It has to
stand out from the crowd by being different from everything around it.
depending on the environments and its that can mean being startling,
pretty, surprising, entertaining, unusual, or simple and direct. |
The
process of making a good layout is similar to doing a jigsaw puzzle:
You keep putting the pieces together different ways until they all fit
comfortably. |
| How to make
a good layout work?
1. Determine the purpose of the
piece (e.g. business card, logo, brochure, ad, poster, web page ...)
Choose a graphic that can express and
support the main message. Plan your layout around it.
2. Size the piece to fit its use.
If it is for the computer, make the width fit
comfortably on the screen without the need of a horizontal scroller
3. Keep your target audience in mind:
graphics and types (fonts) must be large and clear enough to see.
|
| How
to organize a good layout?
1. Make it easy to follow :
arrange and emphasize information to
make your message as clear as possible.
2. Choose what the reader should
see or read first.
Make it stand out from everything else to
show
where to start first (usually top left
corner)
3. Decide what must come next:
words (text) or pictures (images)
4. Continue arranging in order of
importance and
relevance all the information until
everything has
been seen and understood.
|
Information
- put colors behind an important area of
information
- use rules to separate information into groups
- leave white areas around information.
- align similar kind of information
- call out items by putting bullets in front of them
- put pictures next to important information
Type (font)
- use different sizes of type / font,
e.g. headlines bigger than subheads
- change the weight of the type, e.g. font attributes :
bold , italic .. to make it stand out
- put type in a box or give it an interesting shape
- change style of type / font faces
- use different colored or reversed type , e.g. white on black |
How
to attract attention?
Sizes
and Arrangements
- enlarge a photo of something small, or
use a very large type for a headline.
- surround a very small picture or bits of
type with a lot of open space.
- tilt an image or a block of text at an
angle.
- crop an image in an unusual way , such
as showing an eye instead of the face.
- set important information in a atypical
way, such as setting a headline on a curve.
Colors and
Backgrounds
- choose a paper / background with an
interesting noticeable texture or color.
- choose bright colors when the piece will
be viewed in a gray environment,
- such as a text-heavy magazine
- use a solid black area or a large white
area for a newspaper ad.
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